Silver Wolf
by Vingilot
Summary: The world searches for Harry Potter. To their horror, they find him as the wolfman, a child raised by wolves and bred to be more animal than wizard. Harry finds humanity, Snape finds a brother, and Lucius finds a mate.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: The world searches for Harry Potter. To their horror, they find him as the wolf-man, a child raised by wolves and bred to be more animal than wizard. Harry finds humanity, Snape finds a brother, and Lucius finds a mate. 

This fic begins when Harry is 13. This is the summer before his third year should be beginning. Voldemort regained a great deal of his strength last year by attacking Virginia Weasley in the Chamber. He is nowhere near his full potential though.

Pairing: Lucius Malfoy / Harry Potter (after Harry is 17. Nothing before that—this will definitely not change). It will be quite a while before Lucius enters the story at all, much less as a mate.

Warnings: None, as yet. Might have a bit of a Dom/sub ship to it, but nothing nearly as drastic as in my Black Prince. This might be more of an alpha-mate and a subordinate mate.

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Chapter 1 

Silver Wolf paced around the small clearing restlessly. Night was falling, the animals were all peaceful, and the stars were shining. He knew that he should head back to the den for the night, but something held him back. He wanted something…more. More than just curling up with the others for the night, more than a den full of warm bodies and soft fur waiting for him to join them.

He looked around once more before huffing quietly. He knew that he shouldn't risk it, but it was the perfect night for it…

Without another thought, he slid effortlessly from what he thought of as his natural form and into the strange form of a man.

Not one of his more enjoyable tricks, but useful none the less. He looked around warily, before bending down and picking up a few stray sticks. Yes, this was the perfect night to sit under the stars and enjoy a fire.

He looked around guiltily at the thought. He hated that he still had a few traces of weakness in him from his days as a man. He loathed the need for frivolous things like this orange and gold fire that he loved so much.

Another trick had the wood crackling merrily. He sat on his haunches as close to the golden flames as he could. It wasn't really all that big of a betrayal of his proper self, he reasoned. It wasn't as if he _enjoyed_ being a man. It was just…nice, sometimes, listening to the flames, feeling the heat against his skin.

He heard something rustle behind him and he leapt to his feet, eyes scanning the dark forest nervously. A pair of heavy boots entered his line of sight, followed by the long legs that could belong to no creature but a man.

Silver Wolf growled low in his throat and immediately started to shift back into his proper form.

His form was wracked with pain as his body refused to cooperate. He tried again, and once more his body refused to undo the trick.

With a deeper, angrier growl he gave up his effort and turned to face this new threat.

SILVER WOLFSILVER WOLFSILVER WOLF

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Dumbledore slumped low at his desk, barely retaining the energy to feign interest in the argument taking place before him.

Children, the lot of them.

He wanted desperately to simply tell the overgrown children in front of him precisely this, but he refrained. He knew that the time was soon coming in which he could no longer tolerate their behavior, but he prayed that he had a bit more time to spare.

War was approaching.

Oh yes, Albus was quite aware of this fact. He had been for nearly twelve years now. When the Potter boy had first banished Lord Voldemort from his current existence, Albus had been fully cognizant of the fact that the Dark Lord would one day return to them. He had never doubted it.

Now though, twelve years later, he was losing all hope.

Harry Potter had disappeared at some point unknown after he had been left in the care of his muggle aunt and uncle. All that Albus had been able to determine was that the boy was long gone by the time that the child should have been happily celebrating his sixth birthday.

He had looked for the boy. Oh, he had looked far and wide; high and low…damn it! _everywhere_ for the child. He was simply not to be found.

Wherever Harry Potter was, he evidently did not wish to be located.

Of course, the alternative solution was that the boy had not lived within the bounds of any human civilization at all, which was simply preposterous. No child—a mere babe when he had been abandoned, evidently—no one of those tender years could survive without a proper guardian. It was simple common sense.

And Albus was nothing if not a rational man, so he had quickly discarded this notion and pursued instead a trail which ran through every known civilization in Great Britain.

And then onto the mainland and throughout Europe.

And then further, into Asia and Africa.

Finally the Americas.

Nothing.

He could find no hint of their savior.

"…all _your _fault!"

Albus cringed as he heard the childish fight continue in front of him. Merlin, why on earth did he always have to mediate in situations like this?

"Cornelius. Sirius," he said with a calm that belied his current irritation. "Please refrain from name calling and assigning blame. Young Harry Potter cannot be found, and I am afraid that there is nothing to be done about this fact. We are doing what we can to find him and bring him to Hogwarts."

Sirius grumbled irritably. Albus managed to catch a few words here and there, essentially complaining that they were not doing enough.

He didn't bother to stifle his sigh this time.

"Cornelius, thank you for visiting today. I will contact you as soon as I have an update on Harry Potter's location."

Fudge glared alternately at Sirius Black, Albus, and the other professors present in the room before silently declaring defeat and leaving via the large fireplace behind the Headmaster's desk.

"What are we going to do, Albus?" Minerva asked, her voice teary.

"I am afraid that there is nothing more we can do. I am at a loss as to what we should do next. We have searched everywhere for Harry and have not unearthed a single trace of the boy."

"Perhaps it is time to cut our losses and declare the boy dead," Severus said, with much less vitriol than one would have expected.

"Cut our losses? _Cut our losses?_" Sirius shrieked. "That is my godson! He is out there…in gods know where—"

"He didn't mean it like that," Remus soothed. "It's just…we've been looking for a long time."

"It'll never be too long. I'll never give up."

"Where could he be?" Filius Flitwick asked. "If he truly is alive…_where is he?_"

"Surely we could have missed someplace," Poppy said hesitantly. "We are only a few people, after all. We cannot have searched the world over as completely as we think we have. We must have missed him."

"If Harry was anywhere within fifty miles of any of us, at any point during our spellwork, we would have located him. He cannot have hidden from that," Albus reminded her.

"But what if we were wrong in our estimations?" Minerva asked hesitantly.

"Wrong?" Pomona asked.

"Well…we combined the known magical signatures of James and Lily." Minerva slowed even more. She almost didn't want to say the next words, but she didn't know how else to explain it. "What if we were…wrong?"

Sirius shot out of his seat as the words registered. "How dare you accuse Lily of that? She loved James! She never would have done that!"

"I am afraid that I must agree with Sirius," Albus said calmly. "I cannot imagine Lily Evans to have strayed to another man's bed. Not to mention that you saw the child as well as we all did. The babe was the spitting image of his father."

Minerva sighed. She knew that they were correct. "I know. I just don't know how else to explain it."

"I understand, Minerva," Albus replied. "We have all tried to work out a way in which we have failed over the years. Unfortunately, each theory seems to fall apart within moments."

"What are we to do?" Poppy asked quietly.

"I do not know my dear. I do not know."

The fire flickered green once more indicating that someone was flooing through, surprising the gathered professors.

"Who can that be?" Pomona asked, peering into the flames.

They all blinked in surprise when a head of fluorescent pink hair greeted them.

"My dear Nymphadora," Albus greeted cheerfully, once again regaining his usual even temper. He had always liked the awkward young Auror.

"Headmaster," she panted. "We found him."

"I beg your pardon? Found whom?"

"Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

Silver Wolf paced anxiously around the small, strange den, unable to tolerate the enclosed space.

The men who caught him watched his every move from behind thick metal slats.

Silver Wolf loathed them.

He shook his head irritably, his thick mane of hair slipping down his back.

He hated that too.

The men had done something to him. They had said some unintelligible words and then he couldn't change again.

_It was entirely my own fault_, he berated himself silently. He had decided to become a man in order to make fire. He knew that he didn't _need_ fire, but he found the flickering lights comforting. A vestige of his prior life as a man. He had all but rid himself of the incriminating traits of men, but this was one of the few that clung to him.

A group of men had found him in the woods, and as he had said before, they spoke words that he could not understand. They sounded somewhat like the Old Language that the other men—his pack mates before he became a wolf and found his true pack—had spoken.

His memories of them were hazy but he could recall bits of their language.

He shook his head once more and let out a feral growl.

Three men jumped.

Silver Wolf snorted in amusement.

He _liked_ being a wolf. He liked the power and the safety. He liked knowing his place, knowing that he was an alpha even now, and that soon he would lead his pack. He liked knowing that he could fight and kill and protect himself and his pack.

Stupid men.

Another man, older than the others, entered the den and approached him. This man brought with him a pack of other men who seemed to vary in age and size, but who evidently belonged to the aged one. Silver Wolf couldn't quite determine how many winters they had seen, but he could tell due to their sizes that they were likely all older than he was. He found it difficult to look at them properly, as used as he was to looking at his pack mates. Men were so strangely put together.

He growled a warning as he backed warily toward the corner, trying to keep his distance from these new threats.

"Oh my dear boy," Albus whispered before turning back to the Aurors. "Thank you ladies and gentlemen," Albus said to the Aurors. "I believe that we can take it from here."

"Careful, Headmaster," one of the Aurors warned. "He's an animal. Lived 'mong them for years, seems to me. Wolves, most like. There's a large pack of 'em living in that area. Boy's deranged."

"Nearly took my hand off," anther said, lifting a heavily bandaged arm.

"Who is he that you wanted him so bad?" one man asked.

The Aurors had been given a general description of Harry Potter a few years ago, although they were not told who it was. When they had found someone matching the general description—dark hair, green eyes, aged 12-14—they had simply decided to take him in to hold for Dumbledore. Given the strange situation they had found him in, they decided it was well within the bounds of law to hold the teen for questioning.

The famous scar was not visible beneath the layer of grime and hair that covered the boy's forehead. It was only Kinsgley Shakelbolt and Nymphadora Tonks who knew the truth of whom they were looking for. Tonks had immediately summoned the headmaster, knowing full well that the longer that the boy was watched over by the Aurors, the greater chance that someone would discover his true identity.

"I am afraid I cannot reveal that to you," Albus said gently.

"Whoever he is, he's damned dangerous, that's for sure. Watch your back, and don't get too close to him," one of the Aurors warned Albus again.

Albus stared at the fully naked Harry Potter in stunned silence, before thanking the Aurors once more, this time the dismissal clear.

"Do you think that he truly lived among the wolves?" Minerva asked quietly.

"Look at him," Sirius whispered, the heartbreak clear in his voice.

"There is nothing to be done about those lost years," Albus said firmly. "Now we must take him to Hogwarts and help him to begin again."

Silver Wolf tilted his head in question, unable to discern the words spoken by the men who had decided to stand on his side of the bars. He didn't particularly like their presence in his space, but at least it gave him some hope. If these men could come _into_ the den then surely he could find his way _out_.

"My poor child. Where have you been all these long years?" Albus asked softly, finally addressing the boy and taking a step closer.

Silver Wolf growled again, the sound coming even lower in his chest this time.

"I do not believe that he understands you," Severus said dryly.

"Harry," Sirius said stepping forward. "It's me, Sirius. Don't you remember me?" He held out his hand toward his godson, trying to tempt him further into the light.

Silver Wolf snapped angrily at the outstretched paw.

Stupid men. Using their words to hurt him, then trying to trick him into being hurt by their hands. Oh no, that wouldn't work with him. He remembered men all too well.

Another one stepped in closer, this one seeming to be a she-wolf of the men.

"They'll not harm you," she said soothingly, her words very slow and quiet.

Silver Wolf turned them over in his head for a few long moments before he remembered their meaning. A hint of a whine slipped from his lips in question.

"We wish to help you," she said, the intonation of her voice unchanging, still speaking very slowly. "We have been looking for you for a long time."

The old man approached once more, almost sneaking up on Silver Wolf. He'd not let them sneak up on him again. He snapped angrily at the old one, his distrust clear. How he wished for his proper teeth and claws. He'd show them then! He hated this weaker form, just as he hated men.

"No one will hurt you," the she-wolf repeated.

Silver Wolf tilted his head slowly, trying to remember the proper word in the Old Language for the she-wolves of men. The word escaped him.

"Are you hungry?" a silky voice asked him from a few feet away.

Hungry. He knew that word.

Silver Wolf looked up, startled to meet purely black eyes. He stepped out slowly from his corner, sliding warily in between the she-wolf and the old one, toward this other man.

He circled him slowly, scenting him carefully.

"What is he doing?" Severus asked, eyeing the young boy warily.

"I believe that he is taking your scent," Remus said, studying his godson quietly.

"Excuse me?" Severus snapped.

Silver Wolf jumped back quickly, his sharp teeth bared in warning.

"Don't startle him now, Severus," Minerva chided. "I just got him calmed down. Let the child smell you if that is what will make him feel better. We need to get him out of here and back to Hogwarts. And into clothing, hopefully," she added with a blush.

Severus glared at her before reigning in his irritation and reapplying his blank mask. No need to rile up the animal…child. He turned once more toward the feral child and faced him calmly, his hands resting by his sides, his attitude as unthreatening as possible.

Silver Wolf approached once more, keeping one wary eye on the tall man in front of him while the other shifted slowly over the man. He circled him once more, this time even more slowly.

He reached a wary paw up to the man's fur and grabbed it, for once pleased to have the paws of a man so that he could do so more firmly.

Severus bent down with a noise alarmingly like a squawk.

Silver Wolf studied the fur closely, then reached down and grabbed a handful of his own fur and laid it next to it. He snuffed quietly, evidently pleased by what he found.

The moment that the child let go of his hair Severus stood straight once more, glaring his irritation at his colleagues. He felt the boy pick up one of his hands and run their fingers together for a moment.

"What is he doing?" he hissed.

"I have no idea," Albus said. "Remus?"

"I…I really haven't the faintest clue," a confused Remus replied. "The Aurors said that Harry was likely raised among wolves, not werewolves."

"Are the two so different?" Severus sneered, trying to ignore the fact that the child had now laid their hands one on top of the other, seemingly comparing the size of their hands.

"You know that they are," Remus said patiently.

Silver Wolf lifted the man's paw up to his mouth and licked it carefully, before letting out a delighted yip. His mind raced frantically for the word in the Old Language to explain to this man, who was evidently not able to recognize him for what he was. Well, it was hardly the man's fault—men were stupid, even this one.

His mind flitted from word to word, discarding many. Not 'uncle.' No, definitely not. He remembered that word all too well. And not simply 'man' either—no this one was more than that. Much more.

Finally his mind hit on just the right word for this.

"Pack," he rasped out, his voice long since unused to forming word in the Old Language.

"Pack?" a few of the men echoed back.

Silver Wolf thought carefully. Perhaps he had used the wrong word after all.

After a few more minutes' thought, he simply nodded. "Pack."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 

"Why the fuck is he calling you 'pack'? Sirius shouted, once they were all back at Hogwarts and his godson was safely tucked away in the infirmary, sleeping under the influence of a powerful spell.

"How should I know?" Severus sneered. "The boy is half crazed. He likely just remembered a word in English and decided to say it aloud."

"No," Minerva said calmly. "He understood some of what we were saying earlier. Remember? He calmed down once I told him that we would not hurt him. And he definitely responded when you asked if he was hungry."

"Coincidence, I am sure."

"Werewolves only use 'pack' to refer to family," Remus said softly.

"And you yourself just told us that wolves and werewolves are radically different from each other!" Severus yelled in frustration.

"Not so radically different," Remus explained. "We have different customs, but I am certain that basic concepts such as 'pack' remain the same."

"That bastard raped Lily!" Sirius pointed wildly at Severus, unable to keep his suspicions in any longer.

"I never touched the bitch," Severus snapped back, his dark eyes dancing with fury.

"I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!"

"Gentlemen," Albus said loudly, bringing the shouting to a standstill. He turned to Remus, who had somehow retained his calm when everyone else had lost all control over that single word that Harry spoke. "Remus, can you scent any familial relationship between the two?"

"I am sorry, Headmaster, but my werewolf abilities are at their lowest right now. The full moon was two weeks ago. Its part of the curse, that when my magical abilities have fully recovered from the change, that I lose the little that I gain through the lycanthropy."

"Pity," Severus said snidely.

"Severus," Albus said, the warning clear in his voice. "Now then. Right or wrong, Harry seems to think that Severus is in some way related to him. Perhaps, for now, he should be housed with Severus in the dungeons while we determine precisely why he thinks this."

"What?" Sirius yelled. "He's staying with me and that's that!"

"I am afraid that it does not appear to be a viable option, Sirius," Albus explained patiently. "There are many reasons behind my decision, not least of which is the fact that Severus is the only one of us whom Harry seemed remotely comfortable with."

"He'd warm up to me," Sirius argued.

"Sirius, he nearly took your hand off," Minerva reminded him. "And I feel quite certain that he could do so, if he put any real effort into it. He has amazingly sharp teeth for a boy his age."

"I don't even want the brat!" Severus argued. "I am afraid that my chambers will not accommodate an animal of that size."

Sirius lunged at him, all sense of control gone.

Albus sighed and tied Sirius to his seat with a silent spell. "Really, Sirius, you must learn to understand Severus' sense of humor."

Severus snorted quietly. If Albus wanted to chalk it up to humor, he was welcome to. The child was uncontrollable and he'd be damned if he had to be the one to deal with him. It. Whatever.

"Severus," Albus said severely. "You will take the boy in and you will do your best by him. I am quite certain that he will not need much looking after."

"He thinks he's an animal," Severus argued calmly, refusing to give in to the urge to scream again.

"There is that," Remus agreed.

"You see? Even the werewolf agrees with me," Severus said triumphantly.

"I believe that he might be an animagus," Albus explained. "The Aurors placed a shape-holding spell on him to prevent him from changing form the moment that they realized who he was. Perhaps he is a wolf."

"Room him with Lupin. I'm sure he'll feel right at home," Severus sneered.

Minerva cut in before another fight could begin. "Surely he cannot have achieved the transformation yet, Albus. He is not quite thirteen and he is completely untrained!"

"It is difficult to determine. The fact that his hair is so heavily silver must show something of import. It seems to me that either he has been using magic excessively enough to harm his body, or else he is manifesting something from his animagus transformation."

"But for him to be manifesting…he must have not only achieved the transformation years ago but he must have been capable of holding it for extended periods of time! Not even I can hold my transformation indefinitely, and it would take nearly infinite levels of power for a child that age to accomplish something like that!" Minerva argued.

"I know, Minerva; 'nearly' being the key word here. We have always known that he would be powerful. And it wouldn't take nearly as much power if that was the sole use for which you channeled your abilities, as I suspect that young Harry might have done."

"Can we return to the topic at hand?" Severus bit out. "Magically gifted or not, I don't want that animal in my home!"

Albus sighed once more. "Just the same, I expect you to take care of him for the time being. Once he grows accustomed to the rest of us he can move in with one of us."

"Albus?" Poppy's concerned voice rang out from the floo.

"Yes Madame?"

"I am afraid that Harry is going to wake up soon. Your spell certainly didn't last as long as expected on him. He must be fighting it."

"We'll come through," Albus said, standing to floo to the Infirmary.

"Thank Merlin the boy slept through the trip here," Remus whispered to Minerva as they cued up to floo.

"I can't imagine how we would have done it otherwise," she agreed.

The last of them flooed into the Infirmary and found that Harry was indeed waking up. The boy was a bit short for his age but seemed to be almost too-heavily muscled for his petite size and age. His hair reached to mid-back, and it was a starling mixture of inky black and brilliant silver.

Harry stretched slowly with an almost feline grace before rolling over and dropping out of the bed onto all fours. He squatted on the floor and glared up at the assembled group.

His irritation with the situation was obvious to everyone.

"How are you feeling?" Albus asked cheerfully.

Silver Wolf looked around the large white room cautiously, ignoring the men for the moment. He whined low in his throat.

"My name is Albus," the Headmaster introduced himself, raising his hand to his chest to make it clear that he was speaking of himself. "Albus."

Silver Wolf stood in silence for a few minutes, running through what he remembered of the Old Language carefully to recall the proper words. When he had first found the pack, when he had been little, he had needed to translate his new language into the Old Language in order to remember the word. That need quickly left, and he had little memory of the Old Language any more.

A few words remained though. Most of them were the words that he had struggled to learn first in the New Language.

"Wolf-man," the boy said, his voice rough.

"No. Harry," Albus said, pointing at the boy.

Silver Wolf stared at him blankly.

Remus stepped forward. "My name is Remus," he said, using the same gestures to make his meaning clear.

"Wolf-man," he repeated himself.

The others introduced themselves as well, nodding their acceptance of the young man's chosen title for himself.

Finally it was Severus' turn to introduce himself. "Severus," he said shortly, not wasting time or energy on anything more elaborate.

"Silver Wolf," the boy said, the words an obvious strain on his limited vocabulary.

The gathered men looked up sharply at his words, clearly startled.

"Silver Wolf?" Albus questioned.

An angry growl slipped from the boy's lips at the Headmaster's use of that name.

"I believe that must be a pack name," Remus explained hurriedly. "A name reserved for family members and loved ones."

"Of which I am neither," Severus sneered.

"Nonetheless…it is clear that he wishes you to have the privilege," Remus answered slowly.

Silver Wolf grew bored with their meaningless and indecipherable words and he started to look around this strange, white den he was standing in. Only a man would choose someplace this…empty to make his den in. He didn't see how anyone could properly raise a cub in this kind of environment.

"He seems to be looking for something. Do you think he is hungry?" Albus asked the others.

"For Merlin's sake!" Severus snapped. He took a few quick steps closer to the boy. "This is Hogwarts. It is where we live. We brought you back with us."

Silver Wolf looked up at his pack-mate, carefully processing the difficult words. He didn't catch it all because the man had spoken so quickly, but he did understand "live," "brought," and "us." Seemed that these men lived in the white place and that they had decided that he should do so as well.

He tried desperately to shift into his wolf form, to show them that he did not belong here with the other men. He found himself still unable to do anything.

"Albus," Poppy whispered excitedly. "Look at this!" She waved him eagerly over to look at the charts which were recording information about Harry's health and magical strength levels as they spoke.

"Remarkable," he said in awe. "It appears that we were right. Harry must be an animagus."

"Why do you think so?" Remus asked curiously.

"His magic is fighting the bonds that the Aurors placed on him," Poppy explained eagerly. "He is either a metamorphmagus or an animagus, though it is likely that he is an animagus. Magical energy looks different when it is centered in a change that drastic—a change from human to animal."

"He is trying to fight the spell even now?" Minerva asked incredulously.

"Yes. Can you get him to stop?"

"The child barely understands our words. There is no way he will understand something that complex with his evidently limited grasp of the English language," Severus said.

Silver Wolf shifted closer to the tall man, the man who was inexplicably a part of his pack. He sat on the floor at his feet and leaned heavily against his long legs.

Severus moved to shift away but halted when he saw Dumbledore's motion to remain still.

"What am I to do, Albus?" he asked in exasperation.

"It seems that there is only one thing to do, my boy," Albus said cheerfully. "Perhaps he will do better if we remove him from Hogwarts. It does not seem to agree with him, and it would be impossible to allow him outside at all. You must take Mr. Potter to Snape Cottage and assist him in regaining his sense of self. The boy cannot continue to think of himself as a wolf, after all."

Severus sputtered for a moment before regaining his ability to speak. "Pardon me? What would possess me to take this half crazed _child_ to my _home_?"

"He seems to have taken a shine to you," Albus announced easily.

"Why the bloody hell would I give a damn if the Potter brat likes me?" Severus growled.

Silver Wolf growled low in his throat at the noise. The other men had angered his pack-mate.

Minerva shuddered at his feral eyes. "Really, Severus. What other choice do we have? He cannot live in the Infirmary for the summer, and he has no other home."

"He could come with me," Sirius muttered, although not quite as firmly as he would have argued before he had seen his godson looking fit to tear him from limb to limb.

"You know that is not a good idea, Sirius," Minerva snapped. "Harry needs to be reintroduced to his culture. He needs to be ready to attend Hogwarts in a matter of months. Do you honestly think that you are capable of teaching Harry all that he needs to know to fit in?"

Sirius shrugged uncomfortably.

"I am sorry, Sirius," Albus said. "Not only has Harry taken a liking to Severus, but it is also clear to me that he will need the discipline and fortitude that only Severus can give him. Tell me honestly, Sirius. Do you think that you would be able to push Harry as he needs to be pushed to learn everything?"

Sirius looked at his godson for a moment before looking away. "No," he whispered.

"Well that's settled then. Harry and Severus will leave for Snape Cottage immediately. Once you arrive, Severus, you can remove the spell that is keeping him from transforming," Albus announced.

"Won't that be counterproductive?" Poppy asked.

"This is driving him out of his mind, and making him far more aggressive," Remus said. "If he knows that he can transform at will again, perhaps he will calm down and be more content with his situation."

"Do you know the proper spells to keep him from running away?" Minerva asked Severus.

"Of course I do," he sneered.

Silver Wolf twisted his lips as well. Stupid men, irritating his pack-mate. He counted this as more evidence that this tall man really was pack. They both hated men, so they must be related.

Minerva looked down at his small face in shock at the familiar expression. "Oh my," she whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

Severus paced restlessly around the small sitting room in his family cottage. It wasn't a cottage in the traditional sense of the word. It was more like a large country house with two stories and a four bedrooms, although he really only occupied the first floor. Since he had inherited the property he had never bothered to prepare the second floor for guests. The fact that he never had any guests certainly helped.

He had brought the boy to his home, as ordered by the Headmaster.

He had set up the requisite spells to prevent the boy from leaving the property, regardless of form.

He had sent the child into another deep sleep, courtesy of a simple sleeping spell.

Now he had to think.

When he had heard Minerva's strangled exclamation he had looked down with a glare to see…

His own glare returned.

His _exact_ glare.

Fuck.

Maybe the boy _had_ meant something after all by his words. Well, word, really. The child had uttered the word 'pack' twice now. He had either not known any more words, or simply could not be bothered to speak them yet, aside from what he could only assume was a name that the boy had given earlier today…if you could even call "Wolf-Man" or "Silver Wolf" names.

Severus had, of course, brushed any possible meaning of the word 'pack' aside. The boy was crazed. He could not actually _mean_ anything by the word choice.

But the evidence, sketchy though it was, seemed to be pointing to the fact that the child did in fact, use the word he had intended to use.

Poppy had immediately taken blood from Severus to run a few tests, now that his protests had been effectively silenced. She would not know any results for a week though, and it was killing Severus. How he wished for a potion that could tell them the results in a moment!

Severus shook his head. This was a complete waste of bloody time. So the boy had his sneer. And his glare. So what? He had certainly never touched Lily Evans in his life. There was no way that the brat was his.

It was blatantly evident that Lily Evans was his mother, given the brilliance of the boy's green eyes. No one had eyes like that but Lily Evans. His mind immediately swung through the family tree, trying to ferret out the boy's possible father.

He had no siblings, so that was easy enough to eliminate.

His last living uncle had died around fifteen years ago—too long deceased to possibly be the boy's father by at least a year, if not two, since the Potter boy was only now turning thirteen.

He had no cousins who took after the Snape looks. The others in the family had far lighter hair, or had blond hair. It was only a small portion of the family tree that bore the inky black hair and eyes that had made him and his father so famous.

His father.

Severus' heart stopped for a moment, and he had to clutch blindly at the wall to support himself.

His father.

Fuck. He almost wished the boy was his.

He was startled from his thoughts by a low whine that was coming from the doorway.

Silver Wolf watched his pack-mate in silence, growing more and more agitated as he saw the anger and despair and confusion running through the man. He wished he knew what to do to help.

Severus looked at the confused boy. Poor child. He really must be overwhelmed by all of this movement and strange places and new people, not to mention that the child still had no idea why he was being held here with him to begun with.

"I can take off the spell," Severus said slowly. "I can let you become a wolf again."

Wolf. Now that was one word that Silver Wolf definitely remembered. He nodded eagerly.

"You will not be able to leave," Severus said. "You must stay here."

The boy nodded his head once more, although Severus was left to guess whether this was to encourage him to make the change more quickly or whether it bespoke understanding. Either way, the boy wouldn't be capable of leaving with the boundary spells he had put up earlier.

Severus pulled out his wand and muttered the incantation.

The boy stared down at his hands in amazement, evidently feeling the spell as it was stripped from his form. In a split second he changed from a young man to a large, silver wolf.

Severus took a wary step back. Gods the beast was huge—much larger than he had assumed the boy would be.

Silver Wolf took a step forward, a low whine escaping from him.

Severus reached out a shaking hand and ran it through the thick pelt. Merlin! The boy truly was an animagus!

By the fact that his hair as a human had taken on so much of the color of his animagus pelt, it seemed obvious that he was manifesting. Few witches or wizards ever experienced manifestation at all, much less as dramatically as Harry had.

Minerva was right. He must have remained in his wolf form for years on end to be that far into the manifestation. Which meant that the child had to have been living on his own with wild animals for an extremely lengthy amount of time. Which naturally, brought Severus' thoughts to the boy's muggle relatives and their abuse of their charge…which brought him back to his father, the likely father of this child.

Fuck.

"Well come along then," Severus said, trying to shake the feeling of nausea which was clinging to him more tightly with every passing thought of his father. He walked briskly from the room and toward the front door.

Silver Wolf followed gamely, growing more and more excited as they approached the entrance to their strange den. He could go outside again!

Severus glared absently at the large wolf as he started jumping with nervous excitement, strangled yips of joy slipping from his throat as they approached the door. He loathed children for their unendingly loud behavior, and this was even worse since it was all completely unintelligible. What had he gotten himself in for? Severus swore (not for the first time) that this would be the _last time_ that he let Albus talk him into something this insane.

With a flash though, Severus remembered the possibility that he shared a father with this boy…wolf…and his glare immediately softened.

His father was a complete bastard…and that was putting it charitably. The man was a cruel, vindictive, masochistic creature who reveled in causing pain for those who were dependent upon him, particularly his young wife and son.

Severus had had the pleasure of killing the man years ago. It still brought a smile to his face when he thought about it.

He opened the door and stepped onto the doorstep. A warning hand prevented Silver Wolf from bounding past him and into the dewy morning grass.

"You cannot go beyond the fence," Severus said, pointing to said fence as he spoke. "You will get hurt."

The wolf tilted his head to the side in question.

"Magic. Spells will hurt you. Do not try to go beyond the fence."

The wolf yipped again, either in understanding or excitement, Severus wasn't entirely certain. Either way, he figured he had done his duty by warning the child.

He watched the large wolf as he raced through the large yard, wriggling under the larger bushes, jumping over rocks and flowers and running in circles, eagerly learning every inch of the enclosed yard.

Severus found himself smiling at the boy's actions without being aware of it. The moment he noticed, he wiped the smile from his face and wandered over to one of the seats that rested beneath some shade trees. He sank into the old bench with a sigh. What a day.

After an hour of so, the wolf calmed down and padded over to Severus' side, flopping down virtually on top of his feet.

"Tired already?" Severus asked.

Silver Wolf huffed in response.

"Well, while I have you here, we should discuss a few items of importance."

The wolf nodded slowly. The words were coming back more quickly now, but he still struggled with understanding some of them. He had thought the Old Language to have been completely removed from his being, but evidently he was wrong. He had struggled for years to eradicate the man from himself so that he could fully fit in with his pack. It seems that he had not done as thorough a job as he had thought. He tried not to dwell on that depressing thought.

"I will assume that you can understand some of what I am saying," Severus said, still keeping his words even and slow. "Please turn back into a boy when I am talking with you. I need to see that you can understand this."

Silver Wolf studied him for a moment, evidently wary of changing again.

"You can change back to a wolf at any time. I have permanently removed the spell that was forcing you to remain as a boy."

Silver Wolf immediately slipped into his human form, and remained sitting at Severus' feet.

"Now then boy—"

"Not boy. Wolf," he said proudly, thumping his chest soundly.

Severus fought the urge to roll his eyes. "I thought you were a wolf-man?"

An irritable growl slipped from the boy's lips. "Killed man. Only wolf now."

"Like it or not, you are still at least partially a wizard," he said, trying to placate the obviously jittery boy. He _really _wanted to tell the daft child that he was entirely a man—er—boy as it was physically impossible for a human to mate with a wolf and conceive. In an uncharacteristic bout of sensitivity, he refrained. "Now then Harry—"

"Silver Wolf," he insisted.

Severus gave into the urge and rolled his eyes. Wolf indeed. "Perhaps just Silver."

The boy nodded his head, seemingly pleased that Severus was going to use his name, even if the man was insisting on cutting it short.

"Yes…well…Silver. Do you understand me?"

"Old Language," Silver Wolf said, nodding sagely.

"You remember the words with greater clar—" he sighed and tried to find even simpler words so that the boy could comprehend his meaning. "You remember more?"

Silver Wolf nodded again.

"Alright. We have been looking for you for many years. It seems that the muggles—people—who were to take care of you did not relish their assignment with quite the level of pleasure that Albus had thought they would."

He looked down into Silver's confused face and sighed.

"In short, it appears that they abandoned you. Do you remember living with them?"

"Men?" Silver Wolf asked.

"Yes…men."

"Men hurt wolves. They hunt them."

Severus thought over these words for a moment. It was not entirely clear whether the boy was speaking generally about humans or in specific about the Dursleys. Perhaps when his language skills had improved they could discuss it again.

"Not all men will hurt you, Ha—Silver. We have been trying to find you for years. The Aurors—men—who found you brought you to us."

"Why?"

"Because you were not safe before."

"Pack not hurt," Silver Wolf said with evident confusion.

"You are a wizard, Silver, not a wolf. It is time you live amongst wizards."

The boy cocked his head in question at the word. "Men?"

"Well…yes. Special men, who have the ability to use magic."

"I am wolf-man."

Back to this again. The circular reasoning was driving Severus mad. A very Potter-like characteristic, if he did say so himself. Perhaps Potter really had spawned the child and it was a mere trick of the light that made them look so similar.

He looked down at the boy's dark scowl over the insult of calling him a wizard.

Then again, perhaps he was in denial.

Severus shook his head at that alarming thought. Denial of that level was not very becoming of a Snape. "You are also a wizard. We have brought you here to teach you."

The boy wrinkled his brow but did not ask another question.

Severus decided to push on. "We will have lessons every day in acting like a wizard. The first lesson that I wish for you to learn is that wizards wear clothing."

The boy stared at him blankly.

Severus stifled a sigh. He tugged lightly on the fabric of his own trousers. "Clothing."

This time the boy wrinkled his nose. "Why?"

"It is what wizards do. It is part of being a wizard," he said, simplifying the matter. How the hell do you explain clothing to someone?

He noticed the boy eyeing his heavy black clothing with visible reluctance. He sighed audibly. "Just trousers for now," he said, pointing to his own once more to demonstrate. Hopefully taking this in small steps would make it more palatable for the child.

Silver Wolf nodded with obvious reluctance.

Severus breathed a sigh of relief and _accio-ed_ a pair of his own sleep trousers from the cottage. A few quick sizing spells and they were around the right size for the boy. Lightweight and baggy, he hoped that the child would tolerate their presence on his body.

He held them out to the boy.

Silver Wolf stared at them blankly.

"Up." Severus said bluntly as he stood up himself.

The boy followed suit.

Severus cursed his luck as he assisted the child in donning the drawstring trousers. He stuck with a tight knot to fasten them, rather than attempting to teach the child how to tie a bow.

Silver Wolf wrinkled his nose in disgust at the material that swathed his body. He hated the things. He looked up into his pack-mate's face to tell him precisely that, but he caught sight of the man's unguarded expression and it arrested his complaints.

His pack-mate looked almost…relieved? No, not relieved. Maybe proud, but not quite that either. He looked kinder, certainly, than he had ever looked before. All that Silver Wolf knew was that he was the cause of that expression being on his pack-mate's face right now, and he did not want to be the cause of its removal.

He looked back down at the stupid, constricting thing that the man had put on him. It wasn't _that_ bad, really.

"That's not so bad, is it?" Severus said, smiling at the obviously disgruntled expression on the boy's face.

Silver Wolf looked up, startled. Had the man read his thoughts? He had heard rumor before of men who held that power.

He was once again startled by the soft expression on the man's face. This time it was a smile. Even better than before. Whatever he was doing, it must be pleasing to the man.

He attempted a smile of his own.

"Very well. Tomorrow we will have another lesson in being a wizard."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 

Severus set his book down, his eyes burning from the long hours of reading in the twilight. He turned to spell more candles lit but stopped when he saw Harry curled up in the corner, nearly asleep.

"Come along, boy," he said, standing up and moving toward the bedrooms. "I believe it is time for bed."

Silver Wolf uncurled with an animalistic grace and stood to follow.

Severus lit a few candles in the room he intended for the boy. "You can sleep in here."

Silver Wolf stared at the den with undisguised curiosity. It seemed strange to contemplate sleeping in a den such as this. With a large yawn, he quickly gave up his exploration and instead moved toward the corner to sleep. A few quick wriggles to get more comfortable and he was nearly asleep.

"No Silver," Severus said firmly. Merlin, he needed to get the boy to respond to his proper name. One step at a time though, he reminded himself. Bed first. "Wizards sleep in beds."

Silver Wolf yawned again, his irritation clear. "Sleep," he said.

"Get in the bed, like a proper wizard."

The boy growled low in his throat but stood as requested and moved toward the bed. He curled upright against the back of the bed, leaning his head back against the old wooden headboard.

"Good enough," Severus muttered, before turning to go.

"Sleep," Silver Wolf repeated, looking at his pack-mate in confusion.

"I will sleep in my room," Severus said. "It is next to this one. Get me if you need anything."

A low whine slipped out of the boy's throat.

Severus sighed. Surely the boy was old enough to sleep alone? He had never really dealt with children, aside from his Slytherins, and Merlin knows that none of them had ever come to him and asked him to sit up the night with them. Of course, if one of them _had_ done so, he would have refused and ordered the brat back to the dormitory.

But somehow, this was different. His…brother was spending his first night in his memory within a house and in a proper bed. Along with that, the child was sleeping—again, probably for the first time in years—in his human form.

On top of his already alarming few days, it was no wonder the child didn't want to go to sleep in a strange place by himself.

"I will stay with you until you fall asleep," Severus said, settling down on the bed beside Harry.

Silver Wolf curled up in the crook of his arm and fell asleep almost immediately. Severus remained for a few more minutes, simply looking at the small boy.

Now that he thought about it, the resemblance was remarkable. If you replaced all of Severus' harshest features with those of the gorgeous Lily Evans, you would easily see the connection between himself and Harry. The set of the jaw, the high cheekbones, the shape of their eyes, the finely arched eyebrows…it was all the same.

It was still quite possible to miss, if you did not know to look for it. Most people focused solely on Severus' large nose, which his brother lacked. But once the idea entered one's mind, it was impossible to dismiss.

Severus bit back a growl at the thought of what his Father had done and stood slowly to leave. The boy stirred, but did not wake. Severus slipped out of the dark bedroom and into the sitting room once more, to pour a large drink.

Merlin, what a mess.

He no longer doubted that his father had sired this child on an undoubtedly reluctant Lily Evans. He shuddered as he thought of the brutal man that he had known as his father. No, there was no way that the young woman he knew in school had been remotely willing in that. His father had raped her, of that he was quite certain.

Before his thoughts could proceed much further in that vein, the fire burned green.

Severus was momentarily thankful that he had already gotten Harry to bed before anyone came through the floo. That would have terrified the poor boy.

The full group stepped through the floo—Albus, Minerva, Sirius, Remus and Poppy. Severus should have expected all of them to come and check on him, but it irritated him nonetheless.

"How is Harry?" Sirius asked anxiously.

Severus couldn't even dredge up the energy to sneer at the man. "I just put him to bed."

"How is he handling all of this?" Remus asked.

"As well as can be expected, really," Severus said, pouring himself another drink and motioning to the others that they could take what they wished. "He is disoriented, confused, and very obviously wishes he could return to his home."

"I suppose the boy would miss it, even if this is better for him," Minerva said reluctantly.

"I allowed him to return to his wolf form this afternoon, and that helped immensely."

"What does he look like?" Sirius asked eagerly.

"Much as I expected. He is a medium sized wolf—rather large for his age, with bright silver hair. His eyes remain green, although they have more amber in them than they do when he is human."

"Ah. Silver Wolf. I see now," Albus said. "I had assumed the name to be more symbolic."

"No, he is quite a literal child. He insists that he is a wolf-man and simply cannot grasp the idea that he is a human wizard," Severus said. "He does not seem to understand that he and I are the same species."

Albus' eyes dimmed. "It will take time, I am sure. How are you two communicating?"

"He seems to remember more and more of what he calls the 'Old Language' with every hour. He certainly does not understand every word that I speak, but we can at least get on well enough."

"That is wonderful news! I knew that you were the man to help the boy."

"Is he speaking more?" Poppy asked.

"A bit, although his words are still few. It is clear that he is unused to speaking. His voice is quite rough."

"He might have done permanent damage to his vocal cords with the amount of time he has spent as a wolf. I didn't notice it earlier during his check up, but I hadn't thought to look for it," Poppy said. "Hopefully he will consent to another examination soon. It is difficult to study everything while he is asleep."

"I will see what I can do. He is still incredibly wary of men in general. I think he only tolerates me because he believes me to be pack," Severus said.

"Do you know why he is so scared of men?" Albus asked.

"His explanation was that men hurt wolves. I couldn't determine if he was speaking in general or if he was speaking specifically of his muggle guardians."

"Too bad the muggles are dead," Sirius said. "It would have been useful to have been able to question them."

"How did they die?" Poppy asked, being a recent addition to the group who had searched for Harry.

"The man died of a heart attack when Harry was about five—we aren't sure if Harry was still with them then, or if he had already been abandoned. The woman drank herself into her grave the year following. The child is with an aunt now, but he seems to remember nothing" Minerva explained.

"Useless muggles," Severus muttered. "Whether they actively hit him or not seems immaterial right now. What is quite clear though is that his life with them was so extremely bad that when he was abandoned or ran away, he found life in the wild with a pack of wolves preferable to returning to the Dursleys, or to seeking help from other muggles."

Remus nodded slowly. "You're right. He could have found other muggles to help him at nearly any point over the years he lived in the forest. He had to have actively hidden himself from them."

"Hence the animagus form," Poppy said.

"A way to hide as well as a way to survive," Remus said. "A wolf is a much sturdier form for him to take, to protect himself from the elements. A child could not make it through a winter without proper shelter. A wolf can."

"Have you been able to discern anything else from the tests you performed?" Severus asked Poppy. Many of the tests that she ran took long, careful hours of analysis to understand the results in full.

"Some. As we suspected, his musculature is more on par with a very healthy, very fit eighteen year old, rather than a twelve year old. This is undoubtedly due to his time in his animagus form. He is slightly short for his age, but the scans indicate that he is due for a large growth spurt soon.

"Apart from that, he is surprisingly well-nourished, although he eats very little apart from game—another obvious vestige of his time as a wolf. Hopefully, you can supplement his diet with a more balanced meal plan, Severus."

Severus nodded his understanding to her.

"Is there anything else?" Dumbledore asked.

"His body shows signs of strain—as should be expected. He does not appear to have suffered from any broken bones, although he has certainly suffered from his share of nasty cuts and scrapes. Again, I assume that these are primarily from his time as a wolf, and are either caused by other wolves playing or fighting, or from game that is too large for him to handle.

"As I stated before though, he is remarkably healthy for all of his years in the wilderness. It is remarkable that a boy could make it through that many years in the wild with little more than a handful of scars and a slightly unbalanced diet. I've never seen the like!"

"It seems that we have been incredibly lucky," Dumbledore said. "Now we can only pray that Severus can teach the boy what he needs to know to survive in our world."

"The boy seems intelligent enough, if a bit belligerent when faced with any request to act like a wizard," Severus explained.

"It has only been one day—" Minerva said.

"I am well aware of that, Minerva," Severus snapped. "If we have any hope of him attending school with the other children in two months though, he will need to overcome his distaste for human culture immediately. I am simply not certain that that is possible."

"How long do you think it will take him?" Remus asked.

"I honestly cannot say. At this point though, I believe we would do best to hope for his integration into our society at Yule. Perhaps we will need to wait until the following summer."

"We will, of course, defer to you," Dumbledore said. "How can we assist you?"

"Right now, there is little that you can do. The boy is only comfortable with me right now. Perhaps once he is more comfortable here, you could be reintroduced to him, one at a time. I believe he found the last encounter so threatening largely because of the sheer number of us that converged upon him at once."

"Of course, that must have been alarming," Dumbledore said. "I had not thought."

"Can I look in on him?" Sirius asked.

"Wake him and you can be the one to get him to sleep again," Severus said, pointing to the closed door to the bedroom.

Sirius dimmed the lights in the hall and pushed the door open quietly. He saw his godson curled up in a tight ball at the head of the bed.

"Gods," Sirius whispered. "It would break Lily's heart to see him like this."

Remus joined him at the door, peeking around his friend to catch a glimpse of their godson. "He's come through it remarkably unscathed though."

"You call _that_ unscathed?" Sirius hissed.

Remus pulled him away from the door quickly and shut the door. "Yes, Sirius, I do. Think of all that could have happened to him out there! He could have _died_."

Sirius bit back the words he had been ready to shout. "You're right. I'm grateful—I _am_. I just…damn it! Why did it take us so bloody long to find him? He's _thirteen_ for Merlin's sake! He should be at Hogwarts! He should be trying to play pranks and kiss girls and dodge detentions, not live with a pack of wild animals."

"And maybe he will be ready to attend this school year. We have no idea how difficult this will be for him to assimilate into the culture."

"Assimilate," Sirius moaned softly, still distraught.

"It's going to be ok Siri. Severus will help him out. You know that he's the best one for this."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

Severus woke at dawn with an armful of boy in his bed. How the hell had the brat gotten into his bedroom? He had warded it against intrusion last night before retiring, as he had done since he was little more than a child himself.

He huffed irritably and slid out of bed, not bothering to be quiet to allow the boy to sleep. Served the brat right, climbing in his bed like that. The boy was damned lucky he hadn't taken his head off with an unthinking curse. He was a bloody former spy—hex first and ask questions later.

Well, if he was entirely honest with himself, he was too good a spy to ever be caught unawares, and he had certainly never hexed someone by mistake. The brat still shouldn't be in his bed though!

Silver Wolf awoke with a deep yawn, stretching slowly.

"What are you doing in my room?" Severus asked irritably.

"Pack," Silver murmured sleepily.

"Yes, we've gone through all of this," Severus snapped. "Why did you leave your room?"

"This is our den."

"Den? Your 'den' is down the hall, boy."

"Pack," Silver said through another yawn.

"I can't deal with this without a shower and some tea," Severus announced, leaving the room quickly and making his way toward the bath.

Silver Wolf shrugged his shoulders and slid out of the bed as well. Evidently his pack-mate was not going to hunt this morning, so he would do so for both of them. That should please the man and get him out of this fit that he was in.

With a nod at the rightness of his plan, Silver Wolf transformed into his wolf form and moved outside to begin the hunt for the first-light meal. Food wasn't terribly plentiful near the den, but he had found a few rabbits and other small animals yesterday. They should do nicely enough.

He would have to discuss this 'fence' thing with the Man. It was daft to close off your hunting grounds to such a small space. Clearly the man wasn't a very good hunter, if he didn't yet realize that.

Silver Wolf killed a rabbit and two squirrels within a few minutes. Not very much, but then his man was awfully small, albeit quite tall. Perhaps he didn't eat much more than a few squirrels. Well, he would fix that once the Man removed that stupid fence. Then he would hunt for more than enough food for the two of them. He'd fatten his pack-mate up nicely.

He transformed back into a man to better carry his prey back to his pack-mate, satisfied with his plans for the future.

Severus had collapsed into his chair in the kitchen with a large cup of tea, thankful for the blissful silence of the cottage. It seemed that the boy had decided to explore the outdoors for a while, or else was simply in the house but quiet for the moment. He didn't particularly care which one it was, so long as he could get a bit of caffeine before dealing with the child again.

He looked up at a whisper of sound and promptly spat his tea on the morning paper.

"Squirrel?" Silver Wolf asked politely, holding out the bloody and mangled carcass toward Severus.

"Squirrel? No!"

"Rabbit?" he asked gamely, holding the dead rabbit out by one bloody ear.

A blood soaked tuft of fur slipped off of the rabbit's neck and fell with a surprisingly loud plop to the tile.

Severus swallowed thickly, trying not to gag. "Lesson number two. Wizards do not eat squirrels."

Silver Wolf looked down at the animals in confusion. "Rabbit?" he asked again, hopefully.

"Nor do we catch animals with our bare teeth. Nor do we eat them raw."

Silver Wolf looked down sadly.

"And let's brush up on lesson one, shall we? Wizards _always_ wear clothing."

"I hate wizards!" Silver Wolf announced bitterly, dropping the rabbit (presumably for Severus' later enjoyment) and leaving the kitchen with the mangled squirrels still in hand.

Severus sighed and scrubbed his face with his hands. Alright, so he could have handled that better. But how was he supposed to react to seeing his brother parade through the house, naked, with blood on his face and neck, bearing dead rodents?

Stupid, backward, ill mannered—

He sighed. What had he expected? The child was probably hungry and had thought to help out by providing food. It was hardly his fault. If he was entirely honest, it was really his own fault—he had not fed the boy at all yesterday. Gods, he was turning into a horrible caregiver. Who forgets to feed their charge?

Severus levitated the rabbit from the floor and deposited it onto the countertop. Perhaps later he would show Harry how wizards eat rabbit. A quick preservation spell applied, and a few cleaning charms to the kitchen in general and he moved to find Harry.

He found the boy curled up on the entrance rug on the front stoop still in his human form, basking in the sunshine and gnawing on a tiny bone.

Severus bit back another shudder.

Alright, so it seemed that he would also need to instruct the boy in _what_ to eat, as well as _how_ to eat it. And cook it, for that matter.

"Silver?" he asked, as gently as he could.

The boy looked up, his expression a mixture of fear, anger and hurt.

Severus cursed himself. The boy had been doing relatively well, considering the circumstances. If Silver stopped trusting him then he didn't know who would be able to get through to the boy.

"I shouldn't have shouted," Severus said, sliding down the wall to sit across from the boy. "I was startled. Wizards typically cook their food before eating it. And we also purchase our meat from a store." He saw the boy's confusion so elaborated. "We get meat from a…a master-hunter. We do not hunt, ourselves."

"No hunting?"

The boy sounded aghast. Severus bit back a smile. "Not really. Come inside and I will show you more about wizard meals."

"No more rules," Silver said, his distrust evident.

"I suppose no more rules for this morning. Three rules are probably quite sufficient for the day. But I do wish for you to abide by yesterday's rule. Why did you remove your clothing?"

"I hate it. Stupid men."

"At least try to keep clothing on during the day."

"Man likes rules," Silver Wolf said sagely.

Severus rolled his eyes. "My name is Severus. Please use it when referring to me."

"Sev'us?"

"Sev-er-us," he repeated back to the boy, accentuating the second syllable.

"Sev'us?"

"Close enough," Severus muttered.

Silver nodded his acquiescence and stood to go inside.

SILVERWOLFSILVERWOLFSILVERWOLFSILVERWOLF

"How goes your progress?" Albus asked cheerily from the floo.

Severus glared at him. "The child went _hunting _this morning."

"Oh dear. I'm afraid I had not thought of that eventuality," Albus said, his wide smile completely undimmed.

Severus' eyebrow twitched. "He gave me a _squirrel_ for breakfast."

"Oh my. And how was it?"

Severus finally gave into the urge to yell. "How was it? It was a squirrel for Merlin's sake! I gave him three more rules about what wizards do and do not eat and he went to sulk on the front steps for an hour or so."

"I do hope you weren't too hard on the boy."

"I already spoke with your wonder boy, Albus. He'll be fine. He just seems to have no comprehension of how to behave as a human. I awoke this morning with him not only in my bed but to find him curled up around me as though…as though…"

"As though you were part of a pack of wolves?" Albus asked gently. "Do exercise a bit of restraint, Severus. He cannot help it. This is all he has ever really known."

Severus sulked in silence for a moment, pacing nervously. "Has Poppy discovered anything yet?"

"You know that it will take her a full seven days to determine the results. It is an exacting science, comparing magical signatures. Particularly when it is complicated by the fact that we do not have the magical signature of the boy's father or mother on hand."

Severus nodded absently.

"Do you have reason to believe that Harry might be right?"

Severus started to explain his certainty that they were brothers but he bit his tongue. He really didn't want to speak of this quite yet. "Just idle curiosity, Albus, nothing more."

"Of course. Do floo if you need anything. Minerva will drop by tomorrow afternoon for a visit. Do try to keep Harry calm enough to interact with her."

"Do you really think it wise to expose him to another person this early in his education?" Severus asked doubtfully.

"The boy tolerated her well enough when they met. I'm sure it will go swimmingly."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I know, it's been forever since I've updated. Good news it, I also have another chapter in the works for The Changer, so look for that one soon as well. Enjoy!

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Chapter 7

Severus scanned the back lot, looking for his brother. As usual, the moment that Harry could get outdoors, he ran with all possible haste to get out of the house. Even in the light drizzle, Harry had been undisturbed. But it was getting to be lunchtime, and Severus had decided to tackle the daunting task of introducing his brother to both proper food and silverware at the same time. Best to get it over with in one fell swoop, as it were.

He finally caught sight of those bright green eyes peering out at him from underneath a partially fallen tree. Severus walked closer and came to a stop about five feet from the wolf.

"It is one o'clock, the time I usually take my luncheon," he said by way of explanation.

Silver Wolf huffed quietly.

Severus was unclear whether this indicated understanding or irritation. "I would like for you to join me in the kitchen, so we can continue with your lessons."

Silver Wolf huffed more emphatically.

Well, that meaning was quite clear. "I know I promised you no more rules for today," Severus acknowledged, "but we have quite a lot to review and not much time to do it in. A meal in the kitchen will hardly be a difficult lesson," he said, hoping that the wolf wouldn't see through the blatant lie.

Silver Wolf eyed him warily before sliding out from under his temporary shelter. He moved to Severus' side and nipped at his hand gently before moving toward the den.

Severus followed him with a sigh of his own. Gods, this would be difficult. He may have been able to bluff his way through convincing Harry that the lesson would be simple but he was under no such delusion himself. He knew that the next hour would likely be the longest hour of his life to date. And the worst part was, he was quite certain that he would have even more draining lessons to come.

He found Harry sitting in the kitchen, still in wolf form. "You will need to be a boy for this," he said patiently.

Silver Wolf transformed quickly, although he remained squatting on the floor.

Severus grasped on tightly to his patience, knowing that he could not under any circumstances blow up at the boy so soon after the breakfast debacle. He needed to remain calm and soothing or else the boy would never learn. He pulled out one of the chairs at the table. "In a seat, if you please."

Harry looked dubiously at the seat. It looked wretchedly uncomfortable and strange. But his pack member seemed to really want this, so he shrugged his shoulders and stepped onto the chair, before sinking into a squat once more.

Severus pulled out the seat next to Harry to demonstrate how the boy should use the chair. With a bare minimum of silent fighting and glaring, Harry complied and sat, visibly uncomfortable, in the seat properly.

"Very good. Now, when you are eating with a wizard, you will see the table laid out as such," Severus said, standing up to better demonstrate the basic table setting. He hadn't bothered to lay out anything too fancy, and so had started with only a plate, cup, napkin and silverware. He hoped the boy could handle it all. "You will lift your napkin like so—" he said, demonstrating for Harry. "And place it in your lap."

"Why?"

"To prevent you from spilling on yourself," Severus said patiently.

"Why would spill?"

Severus bit back a sigh. "If you were careless, food might drop onto you. If it were hot, it could harm you."

"Ah!" Harry said. "Silver Wolf wears men's clothing for this," he said, pointing to his trousers.

"You wear clothing to protect yourself from the elements, and to remain covered as any decent wizard should be. The napkin serves another purpose."

"This other cloth is a trick?" Harry asked, picking it up and inspecting it closely for magical properties. "Is better than clothes?"

"No, it merely serves a different purpose."

"Is good to spill on this than on trousers?"

"Yes," Severus said, assuming that they were done with the debate.

"What…when I spill on it?" he asked, unable to articulate his question.

"If you spill something on it then you will continue your meal, unless the napkin is so saturated with food and drinks as to be useless. In that case, your host will give you a second napkin."

"Why not lick off? Still food, yes?"

The sigh exploded from Severus' throat before he could catch it. "Wizards _never_ lick their napkins. Or their plates. Or themselves, for that matter."

Harry scrunched his nose in confusion. "I do not think you know this right," he said slowly.

"I assure you that I do," Severus said firmly.

"This is why men are stupid," Harry announced with a grin. "Wolves much better at this. When something is on fur, wolf cleans and is better. No new fur needed."

"Men—" Severus it back his reply. Now was not the time to debate with a child why wizards do or do not lick themselves, and whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. He refused to lower himself to that level. "This is immaterial. Wizards use napkins. When dining with wizards, you will do so as well," he said firmly.

Harry patted the piece of fabric that lay over his lap. A brisk nod signaled that he was ready to continue.

Severus took a brief moment to collect his wits. "Moving on," he said. "Your host will have a drink in this glass," he said, signaling the glasses that stood by both of their place settings. "For now, even if given an option for what to drink, you will always say _water_."

"What other choice?" Harry asked, perking up at this new information.

"The type of beverages available is nearly limitless. Until you are more familiar with our food and drinks, you will continue to drink water. We will need to introduce you to a proper wizard's diet slowly, or it will be too great a shock to your system. In a few weeks you can try some other drinks."

Harry scowled at this. "What you have?"

"Water," Severus said dryly, lifting his glass for Harry to inspect. This seemed to perk the young boy up, now that he no longer felt slighted.

"Perhaps we should practice drinking from a cup?"

Harry shrugged his indifference. It was clear that he took these 'lessons' more as eccentric suggestions than as reasonable rules to live by.

Severus lifted his own glass to his lips to demonstrate how Harry should drink from the cup. Harry grabbed his with both hands and stared down at it dubiously.

"Bring it to your lips and tilt it back slowly," Severus instructed.

Harry complied, his eyes crossing as he attempted to keep the foreign object in his eyesight the entire time. He tilted the glass too sharply and water spilled out, running down his face. Harry kept drinking, oblivious to his mistake.

Severus pulled the glass out of his hands. "Are you a complete fool?" he snapped, slamming the glass back down on the table for Harry and grabbing his own napkin to help dry off the soaking wet boy. "What is _wrong_ with you?"

Harry turned to him, completely bewildered. "Is not right?"

"No, _is not right,_" Severus snapped back irritably. "We have already learned napkins, and reviewed the fact that all food and drink should end up _inside_ your mouth, not on your lap. And when you start to spill on yourself you should generally _stop what it is you are doing_ _so you don't make an even bigger mess_."

Harry stopped Severus' hands as they tried to dry off his bare chest with the sopping napkin. "Is just water, Sev'us. Water is good."

Severus sighed heavily, dropping the soaked napkin to his side. "I know, Harry."

"Not Harry," he reminded his pack mate gently. "Silver Wolf. Remember?"

"Harry is your wizard name," Severus said wearily, sinking back into his seat. "It is the name that your mother gave you when you were born."

"Not from father?" he asked, quickly forgetting his previous concern over his pack mate's odd response to a little water. After all, men did unexplainable things all the time. It really wasn't so odd that his man would have such a bizarre response to some water. He expected no less than complete irrationality from men. They couldn't help it. "Is how men do this?"

"Not usually, no," Severus said. "I will explain more later. But do you understand, Silver, why we call you Harry?"

Harry nodded slowly. "Is good name, Har-e?"

"Harry. And yes, it is a decent name."

"What is it?"

Severus stared at him blankly for a moment, trying to understand the question. "What does it mean?" he repeated back for clarification. At Harry's nod, he elaborated. "I imagine that your mother meant to name you after a great muggle king of old. He was greatly loved by the common men, and a great leader. He won the hearts of his people as few kings before or since have done."

"Har-e. Is not bad name," Harry said, pulling his feet up onto the seat and hugging his knees to his chest. "Is name of alpha. Of Prime alpha?" he asked, seeking clarification for the word 'king'. At Severus' nod he nodded his head in conviction. "Is not so bad, even if it is from men."

Severus nodded again, too wiped out from recent events to contribute anything else.

"I make decision," Harry announced proudly. "With pack, I am Har-e."

"The other wizards will wish to call you Harry as well," Severus said, perking up with this new turn of events. Perhaps the boy was not a hopeless cause after all. If he could at least respond to a civilized name, perhaps he could learn other things as well.

Harry scowled.

"It is common among wizards to address each other by their personal names, particularly when they are among those that they trust."

"I am not a wizard," Harry said firmly, although it seemed that he was saying it as much to convince himself as he was to convince Severus.

Severus found himself hiding a smile. "I know."

Harry nodded once more. "Is not so bad. Har-e."

"No," Severus agreed. They sat in silence for a moment or two when Harry's stomach growled loudly. Severus smiled again. "Would you like to continue our lesson?"

"Is food now?"

"Yes," Severus said, moving to the side board to collect their meals. "Now we can eat."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Minerva flooed into the empty sitting room, looking around herself curiously. She had rather expected to see Severus waiting to greet her. He was such an intensly private person she had doubted that he would ever leave someone alone to browse ('spy' as she was certain he would call it) through his home. She found herself alone in the handsome room though, and she looked around herself with open interest.

Although she had been friends with the surly potions master for years, he had never invited her to his home before. As far as she knew, he had never invited _anyone_ to his home before. It might well be the case that Harry Potter was the first proper house guest to ever enter Snape Cottage.

Minerva chuckled quietly, thinking about how Harry and Severus must be getting along. Albus had made reports to those in the inner ring of the Harry-Hunters, but the reports had not been long enough or detailed enough to satisfy her. She couldn't believe that the boy, at long last, was returning to their world. All of these years of searching might finally come to a close. Harry had a long way to go though. None of them had ever foreseen this eventuality when they had started their searches. It had always been assumed that once they found the boy he would be ready to enter their world without a second's thought.

How wrong they were.

From Albus' reports, it seemed that Severus was making some headway with the wild boy. The cooperation seemed to be gained largely from the child's earnest belief that he and Severus were related in some fashion. Minerva wasn't entirely certain where she herself stood on the matter. She could see the resemblance in certain lights, but the whole idea was just so absurd! How on earth could Severus Snape and Harry Potter be related?

"I apologize for the wait Minerva," Severus said from the doorway, startling the older woman from her revelry.

"No need to apologize, Severus," she said, turning toward him with a smile. Her smile widened as she saw how rumpled her friend looked. "I see that Harry is keeping you busy."

Severus scowled and immediately performed a few freshening and ironing spells. "The child is a menace."

"Where is he?"

Severus stepped toward the window that looked onto the back garden. "Outdoors, more than likely. We just finished our lesson on dining etiquette."

"That sounds rather advanced," Minerva said, impressed at the advancement.

"Hardly," Severus said, still trying to catch sight of his elusive brother. "At best, he will have taken the basics of sitting in a seat properly away from this lesson. He still has no understanding of the use of napkins. He doesn't understand why his drink should end up _inside_ his mouth rather than down his body. He loathed the vegetables and refused point blank to touch them. He was convinced that the cooked meat was, in fact, spoiled. He—"

"Still though," Minerva cut in. "You managed to get him to sit with you, in his human form, for what sounds like at least an hour."

"Two," Severus said wryly. "I suppose there is that."

"It will come, with time."

Severus caught sight of the wolf lying beneath the remains of his mother's rose garden. No one had tended the wild rose bushes in more than ten years, and they had grown more and more wild since Selena's death. They were now little more than a tangle of thorns with the occasional flower. "There he is," he said, nodding toward the roses.

Minerva took a moment to find the wolf. "He is handsome in his wolf form. Merlin, I can hardly believe that a child of thirteen has achieved such a thing."

"The more I see of him, the more I am convinced that he has lived in this form since the age of three or four," Severus said quietly.

"So young," Minerva murmured. She watched the wolf in silence for a moment. "You certainly have your work cut out for you." Severus snorted but didn't comment. "Has he mentioned your possible familial connection again?" she asked hesitantly.

Severus stiffened immediately. He still has four more days until Poppy would be able to have definitive findings on the test she was running. He studied his friend out of the corner of his eye. "Little," he finally said. "Largely just general references to our supposed connection. Either he does not know what the exact connection is – cousin, father, brother – or else he does not know the word to describe it. He continues to use the word 'pack' only to describe it."

"Is it possible for you to be his father?" Minerva asked gently.

Severus sighed. "No."

"So that leaves cousin or brother."

Severus shrugged. "If there is any connection, Poppy will inform us of it within the week."

Minerva nodded, although she could see that there was more to it than he was willing to admit. "I believe I might go into the garden and try to visit with him."

"I should accompany you, at least until we are certain that Harry knows who you are. I doubt that he would attack a wizard right now, but frankly I am not certain."

"What should I call him?"

"At luncheon today he announced that he was willing to use the name Harry. I assume that it was an offer made seriously. Perhaps begin with 'Harry' and if he does not respond, we will work from there. You can hardly go about calling him Wolf-Man," he said with a snort.

"You are making advancements with him," Minerva said. "You must be proud of that. Getting him to respond to his proper name is quite an accomplishment in such a short period of time."

Severus nodded curtly before proceeding through the cottage to the back garden where Harry was currently napping.

The wolf awoke before Severus even set foot in the garden, aware, as always, of the humans that approached him. The scent of his pack-mate was hardly cause for excitement any longer, but the new scent surprised him. He had thought that the other men had left, and he wouldn't have to deal with them again. He had been rather proud of his pack-mate for dealing with the men so handily. Evidently he had been mistaken though, as this new scent gave testimony to the fact that Sev'us had allowed the other men to live. Pity.

His pack-mate's shiny black shoes stopped inches from his nose. He resisted the urge to bite them.

"Harry, someone has come to visit with you."

Harry huffed indifferently. As far as he was concerned, he had no business whatsoever with the race of men, apart from his pack-mate.

"How are you doing today, Harry?" Minerva asked, trying to bring the wolf out of the bushes and back into human form.

He answered her with a low, menacing growl.

"You agreed to use your wizard name this afternoon," Severus reminded him patiently.

Harry huffed again, this time in irritation. He had forgotten that he had promised that. A moment of weakness that he hoped to rectify soon. He needed to get back to his pack. As interesting as it was to find a pack-mate among men it was no substitute for his pack, and he feared that the more time he spent among men, the more his previously-subdued human side would assert itself.

"Please come visit with Minerva," Severus said firmly. The wolf didn't move an inch. Severus sighed audibly. "If you come out and speak with Minerva," he said, his voice strained, "then I promise we will not have any more lessons for the day."

Harry looked up at Severus in disbelief. He had heard that promise before. Only this morning, in fact.

"The boy can remain where he is," Minerva said easily. "Perhaps he will join us momentarily for some dinner."

Harry's ears perked up at that. He hadn't had anything good to eat since first light. His poor, deluded pack-mate had tried to force him to eat all manner of nasty things earlier today and Harry had had to feign that he was full in order to avoid ingesting any of the food on the table. No wonder Sev'us was so thin. Harry would be too, if he had to put up with any more of the foul stuff.

"Perhaps you are right," Severus said in exasperation. He turned away from the rose garden, escorting Minerva back up to the house.

Harry watched him closely, truthfully fascinated by the she-wolf who had come to their den. Was this Sev'us's mate? He had seen no evidence of a mate inside the den, but then men were strange, and he might not be able to recognize signs of her presence. He slipped out to get a better look at the couple as they sat down at a small table on the patio.

"I can't believe that worked," Severus murmured, pouring Minerva a cup of tea.

"Do you have anything we can set out to tempt him? He did seem to perk up at the thought of food."

Severus accio'd a barely-cooked steak from his kitchen. He had only put it over the flame for a few seconds; just enough to give it a hint of cooked flavor. "I made this earlier. I hope to move him to fully cooked meat within the month."

"I guess it would be a difficult transition," Minerva said, her nose wrinkling at the sight of the bloody meat.

"It had not occurred to me until he had such a difficult time with the food at luncheon today," Severus said candidly. "I believe that if we introduce cooked food to him by stages he might grow to enjoy it." He set the steak on a plate at the table, and pulled a seat out in preparation for Harry to join them.

The wolf moved to the edge of the patio, still shaded by some large bushes.

"If you would like to eat with us," Severus said patiently, "you will need to be a boy. And you will need to be dressed." He heard an irritated growl, but within a few moments Harry stood beside the table, still sporting the black sleep trousers that Severus had altered for him the day before. "Please sit down."

Harry studied Minerva warily, before determining that he could best her in a fight, if needed. He sat on the chair, immediately pulling his feet up as well, curling in on himself.

Severus decided not to comment. It was, after all, one step better than having him squat on the chair. "Do you remember Minerva?" he asked his brother gently.

Harry looked at her out of the corner of his eye for a brief moment before turning his attention back to the meat. He reached out for it eagerly before jumping back with a yelp as his pack-mate slapped his hands.

"Use your silverware," Severus said blandly, motioning toward the fork and knife that sat on either side of the plate.

Harry growled lightly, but he picked up the knife in his right hand, ignoring the fork completely. Reaching out with his left hand, he gripped the meat tightly, using the knife to hack it into smaller, jagged pieces.

Minerva and Severus exchanged a look. Not quite right, but frankly it was better than either had expected. Mastering both the fork and the knife after a single lesson would have been phenomenal. "You met Minerva two days ago in the Ministry," Severus reminded Harry, ignoring the struggle that was ensuing as Harry attempted to cut the meat with the wrong side of the knife.

"I knew your mother," she said, smiling as Harry used the knife to stab a piece of meat and put it in his mouth. "You look like her."

This got Harry's attention. "Silver Moon?" he asked in disbelief, before nodding his agreement. "Mother not as…more…" he growled in irritation as he tried to find the right words to express himself. "White," he said triumphantly, stabbing another large hunk of meat with his knife for emphasis. His fur had always had a more other-worldly sheen of silver to it that was natural in wolves.

"Silver Moon?" Minerva said faintly. "I had meant your human mother. Did Silver Moon rear you?"

Harry thought about her words for a long moment, making certain that he understood them. "Just before the long snow, Silver Moon sees little man-cub. She think he make good dinner. But then man turn into wolf cub, so she think he make better cub. Wolf-Man last longer than dinner. Yes?"

"You saw her, and in your fright you turned into a wolf that mirrored her?" Minerva asked quickly, aghast.

Harry scowled, not understanding a word she had said but disliking her tone. His pack had always been rather proud of the wonderful story – they had told many times over the years, and it had never failed to get a good reaction. It was rather marvelous: wolf's most hated enemy throwing off his skin and turning into a wolf so silver he rivaled the moon herself. He turned to Severus. "Is good song. Maybe I mix words?"

"You made sense," Severus said slowly. "What happened then?"

"Silver Moon take Wolf-Man to den to…old cub, Bright Moon. But she leave to be with mate two summers ago. Then just Silver Moon and Silver Wolf. Silver Moon not last during winter," he said sadly.

"She died last winter?" Severus asked for clarification.

Harry nodded slowly. He reached for another piece of steak before realizing that it was all gone. He held his plate out to Severus in question.

"Perhaps later," Severus said. "I do not have anything else ready."

"I hunt," Harry said, starting to stand.

"Please stay a while longer," Minerva said, not ready for Harry to leave yet. "Do you remember your human mother?"

Harry looked at her out of the corner of his eye again, not yet comfortable looking at her fully. Men looked so strange, and he had dreaded coming into contact with them for so long, that it was difficult in the extreme for him to ignore his instincts and run. He shook his head after a long thought.

Minerva pulled out a photograph of Lily Evans when she had been at Hogwarts. "This was her when she was your age," she said, setting the picture in front of him.

Harry grabbed the picture immediately, bending it in his eagerness to catch a glimpse of the moving image. The photograph fascinated him, the tiny person moving through the piece of paper with such ease. He shook it violently, and then smiled to see that the tiny person was undamaged. Harry watched in fascination as Lily twirled in the snow, her Hogwarts cloak swirling around her. Every few seconds she would open her mouth to catch a snow flake on her tongue.

Minerva looked at Severus in concern. "Do you think he understands?"

Severus took the photo from Harry's hands and set it out on the table, smoothing out the wrinkles from Harry's too-tight grip. He accio'd a photo of himself from around the same age to use as reference. He set it down next to Lily's picture.

Harry was just as taken by this second image as he was by the first.

"This is a picture of me, when I was younger," Severus said slowly, pointing to the picture of himself. "Severus."

Harry looked up at him sharply, his confusion evident. He looked back down at the picture of Severus, studying the little man more closely. Without a scent, it was very difficult to tell that this flat, tiny person was the same as his pack-mate. He finally made the connection and gasped in surprise, looking from the photo to Severus back to the photo. "Sev'us?" he asked the photo.

"It is just a picture," Severus said patiently. "It cannot talk, or grow, or change or age."

Harry thought about this for a moment. "Or say rules," he said with a smirk. He turned the photo upside down with a smile, before righting it with a disappointed sigh when the photograph-Severus did not fall over.

Severus smirked at his brother's disappointment. "No, he cannot make rules either." He reached over and tapped the photo of Lily to bring the boy's attention back to the original photo. "This was your mother—your birth mother," he clarified.

Harry picked up the photo again. "Hello?" he said to the picture.

"It cannot speak to you, remember?" Severus said gently.

Harry looked back at the photo of Severus, and then up at Severus, studying the differences once more. He nodded firmly. The flat, tiny paper version of Sev'us couldn't talk to him, but the tall, flesh and blood version could. Harry looked around the garden eagerly, looking for his mother so that he could speak with her. He whined in confusion as he realized that she was not waiting in the garden for him. "Where?" he asked indignantly, waving the photo of Lily in front of Minerva's face.

"She died a few years after this picture was made," Minerva said. "She won't be coming to speak to you, like Severus did. She is dead."

Harry scowled in understanding. "Like Silver Moon."

"Yes, like Silver Moon," Severus said.

Harry picked up both pictures and looked at them closely, studying every detail of the tiny people within the frames. "I take," he announced, before standing up and moving into the house.

The professors watched the young man move into the house in silence. Minerva smiled broadly at Severus. "He is making amazing progress, Severus. He might be ready to attend Hogwarts within a year."

"He still cannot read, much less speak properly," Severus said, tempering her excitement.

"I know. But look at how far he has come in such a short while! I will make this evening's report to the Headmaster so he will not disturb you."

Severus nodded and poured both of them another cup of tea. "The wolf pack that he lived with all of these years…they cannot have been entirely normal," he said, setting the tea pot down carefully.

"No," Minerva agreed. "The thought had occurred to me also. If my math is correct, the wolf cub – Bright Moon, I believe? She was at least fourteen before she left the den to mate. That cannot be normal behavior for wolves."

"My thought exactly," Severus said. "Do you think that they just had a minimum of magical ability, or do you think they could be actual magical creatures?"

Minerva pursed her lips in thought. "While I hesitate to dismiss out of hand the possibility that they are magical creatures, I am uncertain that such a thing is possible. The only aspect that seems to separate them from their non-magical companions is their lengthened life, and slower maturation process. I wonder if it was merely these two wolves who aged like this, or if there are more out there?"

"I will try to question him on this in greater detail," Severus said. "But it will likely be quite a while before I can get an accurate answer from him. His language skills are improving rapidly, but not rapidly enough to ask such a complex question. Perhaps you can speak with Hagrid in the meantime, and see if he knows of anything."

"I will, as soon as he returns from his holiday. Maybe Remus will know something. He has quite a vast knowledge of magical creatures, particularly wolves and werewolves. I should return to Hogwarts," she said, gathering her things. "The Headmaster is awaiting my return. You really are doing a remarkable job, Severus," she said kindly. "Try not to get discouraged."

Severus nodded. "Floo if you have any information from the others."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Harry," Severus called out the back door, trying to get the young wolf's attention. "Harry, we need to leave for Hogwarts."

The large silver wolf padded reluctantly toward his pack mate.

"As a wizard, if you please," Severus said firmly, making it quite clear that there was only one proper response to his statement. He nodded approvingly as the wolf changed back into the familiar form of the boy he assumed to be his brother. He still sported the black trousers, thankfully. He really would need to convince the boy to change to fresh trousers soon, Severus thought absently.

"Why?" Harry asked petulantly.

"We have discussed this for three days," Severus said with as much patience as he could. He had already had this precise discussion countless times in the last 72 hours. "We must go back to Hogwarts—"

"White den?"

"Yes," Severus said for what was undoubtedly not the first time. "The white den. We must go back there to speak with the Healer. She has information for us."

"What?"

This was a new question. Severus paused for a moment to process it. While he had not been trying to withhold information from Harry before now, he had not before volunteered the truth for why they were returning to Hogwarts for the afternoon. "She has run a test that will determine if we are related."

Harry scowled. "We're pack."

Severus sighed heavily. "We just want to determine _how_ we are related," he said, careful to word it more delicately. Harry's language skills really were improving by leaps and bounds.

Harry's scowl darkened as he fought through his memories, trying to find the right word to explain their relationship. Perhaps if he could remember the stupid word they wouldn't have to go be with the other men. He couldn't come up with anything. "They hurt Silver Wolf," he finally said, deciding to stop trying to find the proper words in English and move on to his bigger concern.

"They will not hurt you," Severus said, guiding Harry through the cottage to the fireplace.

"Make me just man. Hurts."

"I will not allow them to place that spell on you again," Severus promised as soothingly as possible. "You can still be a wolf if you wish it. But you must be a wizard while we travel. It is not safe for you to attempt this as a wolf." He threw a handful of floo powder into the fireplace. "Do you remember what we discussed?" he asked, when he saw how pale Harry had turned at the sight of the green flames.

Harry gave a jerky nod.

"Just like we discussed. We will step into the flames together, and I will say our destination. Just keep hold of my hand and you will not get lost."

Harry swallowed hard. "No burn?" he asked for confirmation.

"It will not burn you." He reached down and grabbed the nervous boy's hand. "Come along. They are waiting for us." He pulled the reluctant boy into the fire and called out their destination before Harry had a chance to bolt.

Harry closed his eyes tightly as the flames swirled around them, licking at his hairless skin with an alarming, tickling sensation. Certain of his imminent demise, he clutched his pack mate's hand even tighter.

When Harry opened his eyes he was standing in a different room, surrounded by men who seemed to loom over him. He immediately transformed into his wolf form, snarling at the assembled group. Better to face the threat with claws and teeth than as a defenseless man.

"What were you thinking?" Severus hissed at Dumbledore. "Was it really necessary to have so many of you in such a small space?"

Dumbledore looked around his spacious office. He supposed to someone who was accustomed to living outdoors, it might appear small. "I apologize. I confess it did not occur to me. Perhaps we could move our meeting to the Great Hall? With the students gone the house elves have removed the tables, so it is currently the largest, empty room available inside the castle. The ceiling will likely appeal to Harry as well."

Severus nodded. "Come along, Harry," he instructed the wolf.

Harry snapped at one of the men's feet before obeying, allowing his pack mate to lead him through this strange, enormous den.

"How has the last week gone?" Albus asked Severus.

"As well as can be expected."

"Has he taken to wearing clothes with any less discomfort?" Minerva asked.

"I have not yet pushed him to wear anything aside from trousers. And he wears those around fifty percent of the time."

"That's an improvement," Remus said encouragingly. Severus wondered dourly if the man was every anything but placid and encouraging. It annoyed him to no end.

"What else have you two done?" Sirius asked, unable to fully keep the plaintive tone from his voice. He still regretted the fact that he was unable to take his godson in, and teach him what he needed to know in order to take a place in the wizarding world. Worse, it galled him that the best person for the job was Severus Snape of all people. Not to mention, he still wasn't convinced that the man hadn't raped his best friend.

"The boy responds, most of the time, to 'Harry' which is a definite improvement. His vocabulary is improving at a remarkable pace. He uses a knife with decent regularity, and has even ventured to attempt a fork – once yesterday, and twice today."

"For one meal?" Remus asked.

"No. For one bite. He has a difficult time piercing the raw meat with it, so he quickly gives up. We have not yet moved on to a spoon. He also still cannot use a glass. We have done very little else. I have focused my attention on helping him become accustomed to living among humans, to speaking English, and to understanding the psyche of wizards. He still thinks, largely, as a wolf. Finer concepts seem to go completely over his head."

"What have you planned for next week?" Minerva asked, knowing that her friend undoubtedly had at least a loose schedule planned.

"Personal hygiene," Severus said; the distaste clear.

"Has he not bathed in the last week?" Minerva asked, aghast.

"Not indoors. He is in and out of a small lake that is on the property, at least once a day. But he has not yet been introduced to soap and the other products he will need to understand how to use."

"I don't envy you that task," Remus said. "He will likely object to anything that holds any scent whatsoever. You might try Gillevry's soap – it is very mild. I have to use that when it is too close to the full moon. My senses are too sharp to stand anything else."

Severus filed the advice away for future use. Although he wouldn't thank the werewolf for his advice, he certainly wouldn't ignore it. Anything that eased the way in this process was a godsend.

He looked down at the wolf who had not strayed from his side as they proceeded through the school. He was staying remarkably calm, although it was clear that he was on edge. The moving staircases and the talking pictures were unnerving the young wolf. Nothing like this existed at Snape Cottage, and he had had no prior exposure to this sort of magical artifact. Severus reached down and ran his hand through the silver fur, trying to calm him. "Almost there, Harry," he said quietly.

Down another flight of stairs and through another long hall and they had reached the Great Hall. Albus spelled the doors wide open. "Here we are," he said cheerfully. "Perhaps I should conjure a few chairs?" he asked, although he had already created seven seats without waiting for confirmation.

Severus cocked an eyebrow at the seventh seat, before he let it pass without comment. Who knew, perhaps Harry would decide to use the seat after all.

"Are you prepared to release your findings, Madame Pomfrey?" Albus asked, sitting back in a gaudy purple and gold armchair. Harry ignored the additional chair and lay down next to his pack mate's seat, his eyes watching the circle of men warily.

Poppy nodded. "The results of the lineage test lock themselves until all members in question are present. Now that I have both Severus and London, they can review them together. I am afraid that I will need Harry to be a wizard for this," she said apologetically to Severus.

"The boy needs to grow accustomed to this form, it is no matter," he said to her. "Harry, please change into a wizard," he said firmly.

Harry growled irritably and rolled lazily underneath Sev'us's chair. That'd show him.

Severus sighed impatiently and stood up to get a better look at the wolf. He knew that the boy had a much harder time denying him his requests when he looked him in the eye. "Now," he said firmly, locking eyes with the green and gold eyes of the wolf.

Harry huffed irritably, but he crawled out from underneath the large chair and changed forms. He narrowed his eyes at his pack mate. "Har-e does not like white den, Sev'us," he said firmly.

"Be that as it may, Healer Pomfrey has requested that you continue our meeting as a wizard."

Harry sniffed irritably and looked around the large room curiously. The other witches and wizards studied him just as curiously, each of them fascinated by the young man standing before them. His vocabulary had improved greatly in the last week, and although he had some obvious difficulty with the potion master's name, he had done remarkably well.

They watched in amusement as his gaze turned toward the ceiling. This would likely be the wild boy's favorite room in the castle, with the spectacular view of the afternoon sky. Birds could even be seen flying above the eaves, and occasionally falling leaves would be pulled high enough by the strong wind to be seen above the Great Hall.

Harry scented the room carefully, growing more and more alarmed as he could not detect any of the scents that his eyes told him should be present. "Sev'us," he called out nervously, his eyes flicking around the room quickly.

"It is just an illusion," Severus said soothingly. "The roof is charmed to show what is outside."

"Wrong, wrong," Harry muttered. "Air is wrong." He started unconsciously pulling magic toward him, gathering it slowly and steadily.

He was growing more agitated by the minute. "For Merlin's sake, Albus," Minerva snapped. "Get rid of the damn illusion."

"I am afraid that is impossible, Minerva," Albus said softly. "This is old magic, and I am wary of tearing it apart. It would take months to replicate the illusion."

"Calm down, Harry," Severus said, realizing how much magic the young man was amassing. He doubted the young man could retain control over the power much longer. "You must be calm. We will go outside soon. Calm down."

Harry released the magic with one primal pulse, his hair standing on end as the magic tore through the room, ripping the complex illusion from the ceiling as though it were paper. He shuddered as the power left him, draining him nearly completely. He looked up at the now-visibly-wooden rafters and sighed in contentment. Things looked as they should now. The world was right again.

The professors stared at him, gap mouthed. "I suppose I know what the rest of my summer will be spent doing," Albus said dryly.

Severus slumped back into his armchair, his head resting in his hand. "I will assist with the research. Surely the illusion cannot be that difficult to replicate."

Harry stood slightly outside of the circle of professors, still studying the room. He turned slowly, taking in the large dimensions of the chamber.

"Are you ready to proceed, gentlemen?" Poppy asked. At Severus' firm nod, she pulled out the thick stack of paperwork that was magically bound together. "I will need both of you to place your hands on the paper at the same time. It will read your magical signatures and will unlock. You may review the findings first," she said with a smile, knowing how intensely private the potions master was. She was certain that finding out such private information in a group like this was killing him.

"Come here, Harry," Severus said, gesturing to the young man. "Did you hear Poppy's instructions?"

Harry stood slightly behind his pack mate's chair, unwilling to enter the ring of men. Only a fool would do such a thing willingly.

Severus could tell that this was as good as it was going to get. "The findings?" he asked Poppy, holding out his hands to accept the thick packet of papers. She set them in his hands gently, and Severus sat back in the chair. He set his hand on the top page, and watched with a thudding heart as Harry set his own, smaller hand next to it.

A flash of light indicated that the report would now be accessible. Severus opened the cover slowly, almost scared to see what was underneath. He forced his hand steady, and opened the cover all the way.

The top page blared the results all too clearly:

Severus Anthony Snape, son of Serena Snape and Silvestus Snape

Harry James Potter, son of Lily Potter and Silvestus Snape

Severus swallowed thickly. "May we have a moment?" he asked the group, pleased to find that his voice remained steady.

"Of course, my dear boy," Albus said, gathering the other witches and wizards and stepping to the back of the Great Hall to give Severus and Harry some privacy.

Severus closed the cover of the report and tapped it with his index finger a few times to gather his thoughts. "You were right," he finally said to the boy—to his brother, he mentally corrected himself.

Harry cocked his head in a manner reminiscent of a wolf, clearly confused.

Severus sighed. He pulled out his wand and spelled one of the other chairs closer to his own, the arms nearly touching. "Please sit down," he said, unable to have this discussion with the boy looming behind him. He needed to make sure that he understood what was being said, and for that he needed to look his brother in the eye.

Harry watched the group at the other end of the hall for a moment, obviously trying to determine how much of a threat they were. After a long moment, he moved around to take a seat in the armchair, curling up in the chair as best as he could. He still didn't understand the appeal.

Severus waited until he was situated. "Poppy ran some tests," he reminded Harry, "to determine how exactly we are related. She has discovered that we are brothers."

Harry looked at him blankly, trying to place the word.

"We both had the same father," Severus elaborated.

Harry understood that word. "Where?"

"He is…deceased," Severus said, unwilling to enter into the specifics at this point.

"Like our human mother and Silver Moon," Harry said.

Severus shifted uncomfortably. This was where the situation would get a bit more difficult. "We did not have the same mother," he said quietly.

"Ah. First mate died, so father take new mate?"

"No. My mother was still living…" Severus trailed off, uncertain how much information he should give the young man.

"How is this possible?" Harry scowled. "Is this the way of men? Many mates?"

Severus shook his head. He knew he had better explain more. Stopping now, or trying to end the string of questions would only result in more confusion. The boy needed to know sooner or later. "Our father raped your mother."

"What is this rape?" Harry asked curiously.

"You mother, Lily Potter, was married…_mated_ to another man," he said slowly, using words his brother used to ensure that he would understand. "Our father took her away from her mate and forced her to mate with him."

Harry's scowl darkened. "Men do this?" he asked incredulously.

"Unfortunately, it does happen, all too often," Severus said, more to himself than anything else. "Lily was a small woman. Our father was large, and he knew too much black magic…evil _tricks_" he said, recalling the word that Harry had used to describe magic, "to be defeated by her light magic spells. He was willing to damn his soul to have access to the darkest of magic. She was not, and he knew that all too well. She didn't stand a chance," he muttered.

Harry shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with this revelation about humans. "Good alphas protect others in pack. No hunting of small wolves…men," he amended.

"You're right," Severus said quietly. "Access to strength or power is no excuse to abuse it. Our father was not a good man." He looked Harry in the eye. "He abused his position terribly. He was not a good alpha."

Harry kicked his leg against the seat irritably. He hated nothing more than alphas who abused their power. And an alpha who not only abused his power, but who took another wolf's mate from him? It was unthinkable. He had never heard of such a thing. To think that his own father was such a creature…"We go hunting now, yes?" he asked hopefully.

Severus looked down at his brother. It had been a lot to learn, and a lot of new ideas for the poor boy to process. He undoubtedly needed a return to the familiar, at least for a few hours, in order to regroup. "That sounds perfect," he said, standing up. "We need to tell the other wizards where we are going."

Harry moved in behind his brother and walked closer to the group.

"Harry had requested some free time, to go hunting and burn off some energy," Severus said calmly. "I will escort him into the forest to ensure he is safe. There are not many creatures in the forest who would dare attack a wolf, this close to the school."

Albus nodded, trying to catch a glimpse of the young man. Harry peeked out from behind Severus' arm and met his eyes for a brief moment before moving away. "Is good time for hunt," he said to Severus, anxious to get outdoors.

Severus simply nodded and started leading the boy toward the doors.

"May we examine the results, Severus?" Albus asked before they had moved more than ten feet.

Severus gave a harsh nod and did not turn back. "Let's go," he said quietly to his brother. Harry slipped into his wolf form and ran ahead eagerly, turning around every few moments to urge Sev'us to hurry up.


End file.
